In today’s episode we talk about what sustainability is and how to become sustainable.
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Episode 10: Becoming Sustainable

Homesteading is not just about producing food, and producing food is not the only source of income for a homestead.
I see people ask how do others go about “affording” the homestead life. They know how much they currently spend to pay their bills and comforts and they presume that they need to produce the same income they meet now in order to pay the same expenses they have right now – but that isn’t so.
So, let’s look beyond food production. How can we afford to homestead?
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Episode 9: Homesteading: Beyond Food Production

Seasonal water flow is a tremendous resource.

This episode is about how you can find that perfect property to buy and start a homestead on.
It seems pretty clear to me that not many people get the opportunity to start from scratch. We might all dream of it… A paid-for parcel of land that has all the right features including a home we built ourselves.
However, practically speaking, many people will find themselves in a situation where they work a job, or perhaps already have a family, and making that transition is very difficult for most.
But the desire to be more self-sustainable, even if off-grid doesn’t seem like a real option pulls the family out of the suburbs and into the more rural countryside. But where? How do you choose that perfect homestead site?

One of the reasons we wanted a property outside city limits is to be away from lights that diminish the view of the night sky.

In this episode I talk about what you should be considering in making a selection, and then once a selection is made what you should continue looking for on your property. The grass doesn’t have to be greener on the other side!

A path through our woods. Down this path are several wild edibles, deer and water.

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Episode 8: The Perfect Homestead Site

Cucumbers, Peppers and Tomatoes.

This is an episode about food waste. It is about what’s left behind – what is food, but is never eaten. It is about how the general public cannot continue to reject the ugly food.
I want to talk about how this is impacted by:

What you do in your home
What you see in restaurants
What happens in super markets
What happens in a farmers field

To have this discussion we’re going to have to challenge how we think about:

The mentality of a hungry world
The belief that we need to “feed the world”
That food has to look a certain way to be worth eating

In the podcast I mention FoodWasteMovie.com – be sure to go visit them and watch their “Second Helpings” section.
Finally, you’ll hear me cite this quote from Joel Salatin:

We don’t need a law against McDonald’s or a law against slaughterhouse abuse–we ask for too much salvation by legislation. All we need to do is empower individuals with the right philosophy and the right information to opt out en masse.


Cosmic Purple Carrots

I hope you take something useful away from this podcast. You may have already known about the issues involved and you may already be living your life in a way that doesn’t contribute to the problem.
Before you make that determination, take a moment to evaluate if there is anything you can be doing better. Evaluate where you source your food from, how much you buy, how much you prepare and what you do with whatever is left over or unsuitable for eating. That said: Are you sure your definition of “unsuitable for eating” is accurate?
Once your house is in order, suggest to others that they learn more about these issues. It isn’t all that hard to do and you don’t have to be rude in doing it. You can easily have a conversation about the crazy video you saw where so much celery was thrown away (See the link above to Food Waste Movie). You can easily ask someone what they feel about a lettuce leaf with a bug bite. You can easily ask someone if they’ve ever tried gardening or composting.

Pinkeye Purplehull Peas

Joel Salatin is right on this point: We cannot change the system until the general public decides that they do not want to support a system where farmers have to leave up to 1/2 of their produce in the field when there are people who cannot afford to feed themselves. And, that change cannot take place until individuals have the right information so they can chance their philosophy.
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Episode 7: Rethinking Food – The Anti Food-Nazi Consumer

I want to share a story with you. It is our story, that of me and my family and our little patch of soil.
I found a picture the other day of the very first attempt to grow food on our property. Seeing the photo didn’t really strike me – seeing the date it was taken did. That picture was from 4 years ago. My mind instantly raced to all the things that have changed is a mere 4 years.
I want to share those reflections with you today and I want to share them because I feel that you need to know just how quickly things can change. You need to know that it is okay to start with just 1 container with a few plants as your first garden. You need to know that it is okay to start with just a couple chickens.
That may not be where you want to end up, but it is perfectly fine to start there – so long has you keep your steady determination to try, try again and keep on keeping on.
To Live The Dream
When you buy a property you buy it with a mindset of what you want to accomplish there, even if that is nothing you still know it from the start.
However, as time progresses you may find yourself taking different paths. After all, your needs may change. Your situation may change. You may gain new knowledge that challenges your initial thoughts on what you were going to accomplish on your property.
That is what this podcast is about – the changes that take place and just how quickly they happen. The good, the bad, the planned and the unexpected.



Elements of a Homestead
Here is a quick list of some of the things I speak on in the podcast with links to various YouTube videos of mine that show that item on our property:
Food Production Systems:

Squarefoot Garden
Back to Eden Garden

Learning about Permaculture


Grape Trellis
Swales
Wild Plants

Animal for Food and Pleasure:

Chickens
Ducks
Horse
Donkey
Goats

And goats

And goats




Rabbits

And rabbits


Pigs
Wild Animals

Energy Uses:

Power use

Thermostat
Windows / Curtains / Fans
Solar
Wind
Design


Water use

Frozen pipes
Animals
People use
Garden use



Here is a slideshow of some of the things that were and that are now on the property:
 [See image gallery at permasapien.com] 
The post Episode 6: Steady Determination appeared first on Permasapien Podcast - Wisely Employing Permaculture.
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Episode 6: Steady Determination

The case for saving seed. There are so many triggers that might cause you to decide that now is the time for you to start saving seed, but perhaps they all fall under the umbrella of self-sustainability and self-reliance.
Saving your own seed means that you no longer have to pay for new seed every season. It means you breed seed that is adapted to your climate and soil which in turn provides you with more healthy, vigorous and productive plants.
But it isn’t only the practical matters that are involved. You are also passing down a heritage. Consider: Your great-great-great grandchildren planting seed from a plant you sowed all those years before them.
It reminds me of a pepper I am attempting to grow this season. It is affectionately called “Mary’s Delight”. I obtained this seed from Charles C. who has this to say about it:

It started out with Hawaiian Chili and Bouquet Peppers planted in the same bed together. I just kept doing it for about seven years and now they have crossed. My step mom gave me the plants so they are called Mary’s Delight. She passed away a few years ago.

Growing peppers may be fun, but growing a story is even better. It’s my privilege to help keep this story alive.
I can understand if the stories are not what matter the most to you. After all, what we’re really looking for is something to eat. However, having a story to share about the food you are eating can be a lot of fun as well.
Whatever your reason is for saving the seed, one thing is clear: We need the seed (or root, or clipping, etc.) in order to grow more food. And this is not just an annual crop issue. At some point even the mighty chestnut doesn’t produce enough food for a certain population and we need another tree to provide more food.
Types of Fruit and Vegetable Seeds
One thing worth reminding everyone is that to save seed we need to be using Open Pollinated varieties. As defined by the Seed Savers Exchange:

Open-pollination is when pollination occurs by insect, bird, wind, humans, or other natural mechanisms.

More importantly, the seed produces the same plant that the seed came from. There is no noticeable genetic change from the parent plant to the child plant grown from seed.
You may have heard the term “Heirloom” and have become accustomed to the idea that Heirloom = Open Pollinated, and that is true in the sense that all Heirloom’s are Open Pollinated, but not all Open Pollinated seeds are Heirlooms’. Again, as explained by the Seed Savers Exchange:

While some companies create heirloom labels based on dates (such as a variety that is more than 50 years old), Seed Savers Exchange identifies heirlooms by verifying and documenting the generational history of preserving and passing on the seed.

I very much agree with this stance. Your grandfather’s knife or your grandmother’s dishes aren’t family heirlooms because they are old, they are heirlooms because you know their history. So it is with seed.
Hybrid plants are different creatures and for the purpose of this discussion I will simplify it down to just saying that you cannot save seed from a hybridized plant and get the same plant that produced the seed. You can, however, produce your own hybrid plants so that you do not have to purchase the seeds, but it is an exacting science and you need to be ready to do all the pollination in a controlled environment.
There are other items to consider as well, climate being near the top of my list. For a beginner there is just no sense in trying to grow plants that are not meant for your area. After your experience has increased and your confidence is booming, then learn about micro-climates and sub-species of cultivars that might do better for your particular climate.
Another consideration of note is to select varieties for their specific traits. You can find heirloom varieties that do better against cer

Episode 5: The Last Seed

Invasive. What does that word mean to you?
Does it conjure up images of a large invading force using power by numbers to overwhelm some other group? Does it represent and abundance that needs to find a use? Perhaps a bit of both?

Personally, I feel that the word ‘invasive’ is typically assigned to a species that is currently taking advantage of it’s preferred growing environment. I also feel that the plant or animal in question generally remains an invasive because of the interference humans make on the system.
A plant appears on bare ground that we do not want, so we spray it. It grows back again and is labeled as an invasive. Is it invasive, or is it just the best species to grow in that bare ground condition?
In this episode I address 2 species, 1 animal and 1 plant. However, I feel that the concepts discussed can be applied across the board to all things that are considered invasive.
Muscovy Ducks
The treatment of Muscovy Ducks (Cairina moschata) here in the United States is a bit mixed. In one Q&A document produced by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Muscovies are addressed as both being “… now considered native and has been added to the list of species protected under the MBTA” and then later are called “…  an invasive species and should not be returned to the wild.”
So what are they, an animal to be protected and left in the wild or an animal that should not be in the wild? The MBTA (Migratory Bird Treat Act) protects birds from being captured and sold. Many on this list are songbirds, raptors and other such birds. How then, if the Muscovy is a migratory animal is it also invasive? Would it not just… migrate?
The Muscovy is considered invasive because it can breed so well. But, in breeding well it also produces a lot of meat. Just 1 duck can feed my family for 2 meals. With up to 20 ducklings per hatch and 3 or more hatchings possible in a year in my climate, that is a lot of possible production from a free-range animal.
Why would we consider such a prolific source of food as invasive is beyond me. If populations do run high, why not permit hunting, as with deer, etc., rather than placing the duck on a list that prohibits population control. Again – very mixed signals.
For now, the U. S. F. & W. Service seems to be taking the approach of saying it is against their regulations to own/breed/sell these ducks, but that they will not be prosecuting.
Hopefully someone will recognize that there is a better way and fix this listing and perhaps we can start to think about all “invasive” animals in a new way.
Chinese Privet
The bane of most horticulturalists in the Southeast of the USA, Ligustrum sinense is quickly identified as an invasive plant. It pops up in ditches, fence lines and forest edges all throughout our region and is seemingly impossible to stop. Once planted it just keeps coming back time and time again.
You know… like Sweet Potatoes, Rhubarb and Jerusalem Artichokes…
I find myself again wondering if this is really some sort of invading force, or if it is just finding ideal conditions that let it thrive. If it is just thriving, how do we maximize the use of it’s product?
Can we stop trying to kill it and instead say “If you want to keep growing, great! I need the firewood anyway!” and be grateful for the quick and easy firewood? Could we coppice the tree as we do with others and cultivate it in that way? Can we find a use for it as the excellent bee forage that it is, rather than condemning it?
I am unsure what the answer is in regards to Chinese Privet, but I can say that I have it on my property and I do not intend to make any efforts to remove it from the property. It provides forage for my goats and bees and the wood will soon find a use as well.
What I would like to see is if privet has a larger part to play in the ecosystem that we are not considering. Since being

Episode 4: Invasive Plants and Animals

Before you get any bright ideas – this is entitled “Missing Link” because I have been, well, missing for several weeks. In this podcast I explain why I have been missing, what is currently going on and what is coming up.
Technology Troubles
I stopped making podcasts so abruptly because I was using a wireless headset to record the audio for the podcast and it was not working out. I would talk for 15 minutes just to find out that all throughout the audio there were pops and clicks and other issues that made the audio unusable. I was finding it very difficult to be motivated to try, try again.
That said, my wife heard about all these issues and decided to surprise me with a brand-new wired headset for Christmas. She is extremely thoughtful. She even included a note with the present. It read: “Because I like to hear your voice”. I Love Her.
Missing Data
My disappointment really comes in with having missed sharing a lot of information with you. In the podcast I was struggling to record with my old headset I was trying to tell you about a course I was preparing to teach, a food forest that was being installed and all the happenings around our property. So, let’s start by catching up there.
Introduction to Permaculture Course
I was able to teach an online Introduction to Permaculture Course though The Homestead Education Center. It was a 3 hour course spread over 3 one hour classes. If you’re disappointed that you missed out on the class, don’t be too dismayed. Members of The Homestead Education Center have access to the recordings of the class. If that is something you want to look in to, head over to their website.
However, we are also looking at the possibility of starting up our own online classroom environment. Right now it is just being investigated as there are costs involved and we need to be sure that the interest level is high enough to justify the costs of running an online classroom.
In the meantime, be sure to keep an eye on The Homestead Education Center, as I am planning to teach a week-end long (3 day) Permaculture course at their facility this fall. Stay tuned!
Ne-He-Mah
This is a 21 acre property that might be best thought of as a development. It is in Flora, MS. The owner of the property is interested in turning the property into a site for several homes for family members as well as a recreational site for cabins, learning centers, an amphitheater and several beautiful vistas for local artists to feel inspired and practice their art.
It is certainly a big project and something we expect to work on over the course of a few years. I look forward to bringing you more information about it as we go along.
Love & Peas Forest Garden
The installation of our local community garden’s food forest has begun. We did make an adjustment to one swale to allow us to capture water that was coming on to the site in an uncontrolled way. Now we can capture the water and let it soak in slowly rather than let it rush across the site.
Several trees, bushes, herbaceous, ground and root crops are now installed, and there are more of those as well as some vines still to be planted.
J&J Acres
Our property is moving along and is getting filled more with every fruit tree delivery. We’ve also brought a wild edible, a huckleberry known as Elliot’s Blueberry (Vaccinium elliottii) out of the woods and up in to our food forest. We have a lot more planting to do and probably will not stop for years to come.
Contest Winners
Remember the consultation giveaway contest? Well, I did select winners but I have not heard back from everyone that was selected. What I can report is that I will be doing on-site consultations in Tuscaloosa, AL and in Tylertown, MS. I will also be assisting a fellow permaculture designer in Australia by giving her a 2nd look at her own property. She knows her stuff, but she wants me to take a look to see i

Episode 3: The Missing Link Podcast

Today I want to share a few articles I read online and offer some thoughts about how permaculture can affect the outcome of articles such as these. Not just in an agriculture sense, but how the critical thinking we use to develop permaculture designs can be applied to find solutions to problems that are not currently being considered by the majority of people.
The two articles I want to share are not new. They have enjoyed the ebbs and flows of the world wide web – being shared at certain times of the season or when political activists really start piping up. But whatever causes people to notice them, they deserve the notice.

The first article I want to share is entitled “Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?“, written by Mark Bittman over at The New York Times. In it Mark approaches two common beliefs: 1) That fast food is simply less expensive than store-bought food, and 2) That fast food is the only way that low-income families can afford the amount of calories they need to live.
Suffice to say, he effectively dispels both opinions.
Mark was able to make a simple meal from fresh food from a grocery store for 1/2 the cost of a meal from McDonalds. The meal he created had more calories, more fat, less carbohydrates and more protein as well.
The problem is that – as Mark points out in his own way – the common approach to fixing this problem is to simply require new labeling at fast food restaurants, or pressure them in to providing other food options. In reality, this does not solve the problem.
The problem is that the ease of buzzing through the drive through so you don’t have to try to cook while your favorite show is on TV is more appealing to people than providing fresh nutritious food for 1/2 the cost of fast food. Said another way, too many people are happy to pay for the convenience, no matter the consequence.
I’m sure we could piece this apart a dozen different ways and analyze how we got to this situation – but how can we get out of it?
First, people have to decide that easily disposing their money on something like fast-food is not a wise use of their income. I, for one, like the domino affect of thereby not needing as much income and so I can work for income outside of my home less. Perhaps I am the only one.
The other article is published at BeyondPesticides.org and is entitled “Lawn Pesticide Facts and Figures“. My take-away from this is that perhaps we are focused on the wrong issues. I see so much info out there demonizing conventional farmers for their use of pesticides (herbicides & insecticides) – but not very much about homeowner use.
Yet, according to the figures on this website, your average suburbanite is more to blame for soil health damage than any conventional commercial farmer.
The great news is – we (as permaculturists) can speak to these people. A conventional farmer is trying to keep the business going and might less willing to endure a season or two of change – but a homeowner can attend a local meeting and learn how to provide predator habitat, how to take up space with useful plants, etc.
Anyhow, I hope you enjoy the podcast – there is a lot more commentary in there. I do not expect to do many commentary type episodes, but wanted to offer these up for discussion – so, please, let me know your thoughts by either commenting below or leaving me a voicemail via the button on the right side of the page.
Thank you for taking a moment of your time to be with me today. This is Jared Stanley asking you to remember to be wise in all your endeavors.
We’ll see you next time.
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Episode 2: Critical Thinking with Permaculture

Hey everybody, this is Jared Stanley and welcome to the Permasapien Podcast.
As you are no doubt aware, this is my first podcast. If you have come over to join us from J&J Acres I would like to thank you for doing so. If you have not heard of J&J Acres and still found our new podcast then I would like to invite you to head on over to J&J Acres on YouTube where you can follow along with some of our family farm activities, DIY projects and many other things.
The point of this podcast is to provide a focus on permaculture. While J&J Acres speaks more to our transition of a large family trying to become self-sufficient, Permasapien will focus only on topics specific to permaculture – be that activities at our home site, other sites I am designing or classes I am teaching.
To start with, new podcasts will be available weekly and will be kept to approximately 15 minutes. However, as we become more busy there may be more than one episode per week and there may be exceptions to the time limit from time to time.
But what does Permasapien even mean? Well, you are likely familiar with the origin of the world Permaculture – it being formed from the words Permanent and Agriculture. I took this idea one step further and combined the words Permaculture and Homo Sapien to form Permasapien. Homo Sapien can be translated as “Wise Man”. By joining these words as a portmanteau I intend to imply the concept of “Mankind, Wisely employing Permaculture.”
You can find out more about Permasapien, the story behind our logo and more by visiting permasapien.com.
Let’s talk for a moment about how I even became interested in Permaculture.
My wife and I purchased our land with only a few desires in mind:
First, to see the stars. We were tired of living in or near the city and not being able to enjoy the full beauty of the night sky.
Second, to do what we please, when we please, with our land. We did not want to be subject to a homeowners association or to the more strict ordnances typically found inside of a municipality. We wanted animals, gardens and we didn’t want to have to get approval for them.
In fact, we had chickens on our property before we had a driveway – but that is a story for another time.
My first garden was a single raised bed grown in the square-foot garden method. While I am sure there are thousands of people that love that method, it just wasn’t for me.
That caused me to do some extensive research on gardening methods. In the process of this research I watched the “Back to Eden Film”.
Now allow me to inject something here – when our home was built the contractor stripped the land of the top soil. What was left behind was something even the invasive grasses were not happy growing in.
That said, the idea of rebuilding the soil as seen in the “Back to Eden” film appealed to me.
I set off to repair the soil for a garden using the methods shown in the “Back to Eden” film.  But… while that was working way over winter, a word that was mentioned in the film caught my attention… Permaculture.
I started learning more and more about permaculture. If I could find a video, I watched it. If there was a newsletter to subscribe to, I did. If there was a podcast to listen to, I did.
I even started making some videos on my own over on J&J Acres.
But the more I learned, the more I felt like I need formal training – something to tie everything I was learning into something useful.
Like many others who have reached this point, I started looking at Permaculture Design Certificate Courses. But it seemed hopeless that I would ever get to take one. There was nothing nearby, so travel would have to be involved and most courses were taught for 2 straight weeks, and there was no way for me to be gone from home for that long.
Then I ran across Geoff Lawton’s online course. It wasn’t ideal, in my opinion, as I like in-pers

Episode 1: Introducing The Permasapien Podcast

Permasapien Podcast – Wisely Employing Permaculture

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